Row over ‘Congress office’ in Turkey: Party sues BJP IT cell chief, latter insists on ‘clear answer’

New Delhi:  An ugly altercation has broken out between Congress and BJP, leading to a legal lawsuit, over the latter’s claims of the grand old party opening its overseas office in Turkey, an ally of Pakistan.

On Tuesday, the Youth Congress lodged an FIR against BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya and the editor-in-chief of a national news channel, accusing them of running a ‘motivated campaign and spreading false information’ against the party and its leaders.

Amit Malviya, unfazed by the lawsuit, took to X and said that lodging FIRs won’t absolve the party of serious charges and its ‘affinity’ for India’s enemy, Turkey. He demanded answers on why the Congress party opened its office in Turkey in 2019, despite its backing of Pakistan in the United Nations on the Kashmir issue.

Notably, there is simmering anger and outrage in the country against Turkey, for its open support to Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor and also enhancing its war reserves with Turkey-made drones and weapons.

The FIR, lodged by India Youth Congress’s legal cell head Shrikant Swaroop, claims that the BJP’s Amit Malviya and the news editor’s insinuations amount to maliciously tarnishing the INC’s reputation and weakening the political standing of the country’s main opposition party.

The IYC in its X post said that the FIR has been filed in Karnataka, under the non-bailable section for criminal conspiracy to defame Rahul Gandhi for falsely ‘linking’ the Congress party to Turkey.

“This malicious attempt to malign Congress, provoke unrest and undermine national security is a direct attack on democracy. We will not stay silent,” it said in a post.

Amit Malviya took to X, and replied that Congress was free to file lawsuits, but this “doesn’t absolve it from answering a serious question – Why did it open an office in Turkey in 2019?”

“And why was this done just days after Turkey openly backed Pakistan at the UN on the Kashmir issue?” he asked.

The BJP leader also shared a news report from Turkey, which claims that India’s main opposition party opened an overseas office in Istanbul, a key city in Turkey.

“Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) also deputed its party member Mohammad Yusuf Khan to help build the organisation there,” said the daily, quoting a statement from the INC.

–IANS